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Airborne Numbered Collar Brass


Grant Bias
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Here are a pair of collar brass from the same regiment where one has the numbers soldered directly to the bar and the other soldered above the bar. So does the one left with the numbers soldered directly to the bar make this a WW2 era 188th Glider Infantry Regiment piece?

 

 

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Here is another example where the numbers are soldered to the bar and not above it. The 674th served with the 11th Abn Div during WW2 and the 187th RCT during the Korean War. I always thought this was a post war piece so is this a WW2 era 674th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion / 674th Glider Field Artillery Battalion or a Korean War era 647th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion?

 

 

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This is a sweetheart piece but probably made from a WW2 era 188th Glider Infantry Regiment collar piece.

 

 

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Tonomachi, I am just saying that it is of my opinion based on all of the examples which I have received directly from WW2 vets or have seen in documented veteran groupings have all been the same with the numbers attached to the front on the bar and not on top. I am by no means an expert on these, just my observations over the years. Maybe someone else, more knowledgeable can weigh in on the topic.

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Here is another set of 506th collar brass that I own which belonged to Capt. Joe Daughty, G co. 506th PIR. Plus, a picture of Mr. Daughty holding one. You can see where the numbers are attached to the front of the bar.

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Here is another set I own on the uniform of 2nd Lt. Charles K. Lumpkin. Mr. Lumpkin jumped into Normandy with HQ Co, 2nd Batt, 501st PIR and later would receive a battlefield promotion and was transferred to the 506th.

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Again, I am no expert, just my observations.

I think your observations are right on the money. However this is for the Gothic numbered airborne crossed rifles only as it probably doesn't hold true for block numbered airborne crossed rifles. Here are a few more that are above the bar and for the Korean War 187th RCT.

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I started collecting WWII Airborne collar brass about two weeks ago with $100 and an eBay account, but this is all I've been able to find so far.....

 

Allan

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In all seriousness, what you see in the previous two posts is about forty years worth of searching for WWII airborne related brass. As Grant pointed out at the beginning of the thread, I have found that the WWII vintage brass has the numbers affixed to the branch insignia with the numbers attached in front of the bar rather than on top of the bar. I have always differentiated the styles of the numbers as either having serifs, which Grant refers to as Gothic, and block, which we both use the same. I would add one other type, which I call "plain" which is what you see on the 188th Infantry sweetheart pin shown previously. I've seen a few pieces with the plain numbers, but I believe them to be Japanese made from the occupation as they are most commonly encountered on brass from units like the 511th and the 188th Infantry Regiments. I would tell collectors not to worry about whether the numbered brass has block or serif numbers. Both are wartime manufacture. I will say that you will sometimes see snowflake backs to these insignias. USUALLY, the snowflake backed brass will have block numbers. I would assume that this is a manufacturer's variation rather than anything else. I have encountered WWII officers who had both types in their possession.

 

Here are a couple more photos of some WWII brass...

 

Allan

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Here are a couple more images of some airborne numbered brass. The triple nickel is the only example of this number that I have ever encountered. If you look closely at the first photo that I posted, you can see that I still have a fair number of units that I am still looking for. One number that has eluded me is 509. I have known two 509th PIR officers and have met several others, but never encountered a piece of 509 brass in their possession. I did get excited once when one of the veterans told me that he had some numbered brass. They turned out being 503 Infantry. Les Hughes, who has written so many great articles for the ASMIC "Trading Post" and who has maintained the outstanding website www.insignie.org told me that he never found a 509 Infantry device in his searches. They have to be very difficult to find. I have seen a fair amount of post WWII 509 brass, but wartime examples still haunt my dreams.

 

The 515th Infantry doesn't have much of a history, but photos in the 13th A/B Division's unit history show virtually every officer wearing 515 brass. I've never found a single, let alone a pair. I figured that this one would be relatively easy to find when I got started collecting brass. A mere 40 years later, I'm still shut out.

 

Allan

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